I have a feeling of this being answered somewhere, but there is just so much info to read and understand.

I am a Kickstarter backer (Colonial Peacekeeper) and have 'ehm' not kept a too close eye on the development, but as far as I have understood it I get access to Novus Aeterno once it is available on steam. Is that right?

The devs decided not to go on steam as fast as planned, instead anyone who holds a steam key in his portfolio can access the game (without steam).All you need to do is download the game and redeem the steam key to your account (you will still get a real steam key once the game is released there of course).